The New Zealand sharemarket continued to drift following a volatile earnings season while offshore bourses climbed to new highs.

The S&P/NZX 50 Index traded in a narrow range of 11,695.68 and 11,746.02 before closing at
11,724.21, down 20.18 points or 0.17 per cent.

There were 76 gainers and 67 decliners over the whole market on volumes of 49.63 million share transactions worth $138.75 million. Precinct Properties, up 1c to $1.19, topped the individual trading list with 16.9 million shares worth $20.15m changing hands.

Jeremy Sullivan, investment advisor with Hamilton Hindin Greene, said the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indices in the United States are sitting at record highs.

“Expectations of a soft economic landing and interest rate cuts and interest in artificial intelligence stocks have seen their markets climb higher. The moves have not translated to the New Zealand market and broader investor sentiment is based offshore.”

Sullivan said there are a number of local stocks, particularly in the retirement village sector, trading at discounts to net tangible assets and “we may well see investors hunting around and picking up undervalued stocks. We have a restrictive interest rate environment and this is holding back asset values.”

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.8 per cent to 5137.08 points and Nasdaq Composite increased 1.14 per cent to 16,274.94 over the weekend (NZ time). The Dow Jones was close to its recent high of 39,131.53 points, gaining 0.23 per cent to 39,087.38.

The US markets have risen seven out of the past eight weeks, and 16 out the past 18 weeks – rises not seen since the early 1970s.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 hit record highs on Friday and the Nikkei climbed further, having gained 0.38 per cent to 40,063.06 points at 6pm NZ time. The ASX 200 was down 0.17 per cent to 7732.5 points at the same time.

There were hardly any major moves on the quiet local market.

Fletcher Building was down 8c or 1.91 per cent to $4.11. Fletcher chairman Bruce Hassall has now stepped down and Barbara Chapman is the acting chair. She will not seek the permanent role and will lead a recruitment process for the new chairperson.

Sullivan said Chapman was well-regarded and knew the business well. “To say ‘it’s not for me’ indicates the level of risk and complexity associated with the role (of chair). But people have been calling for a change at the top for some time now.”

Retirement village stocks Ryman Healthcare was up 6c to $4.59, and Oceania Healthcare, trading at a 57 per cent discount to net tangible assets, gained 2c or 3.39 per cent to 61c.

In the interest rate-sensitive property sector, Vital Healthcare Trust was down 9c or 4.28 per cent to $2.015; Investore declined 4c or 3.64 per cent to $1.06; and Kiwi decreased 1.5c or 1.79 per cent to 82.5c.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was down 28c to $24.44; Gentrack shed 20c or 2.53 per cent to $7.71; Restaurant Brands declined 9c or 2.78 per cent to $3.15; Seeka fell 14c or 5.02 per cent to $2.65; and Winton Land decreased 8c or 3.25 per cent to $2.38.

Consumer-related stocks Steel & Tube was up 2c or 1.79 per cent to $1.14; Bremworth was down 3c or 6.25 per cent to 45c; Burger Fuel declined 1.5c or 4.92 per cent to 29c; and 2 Cheap Cars shed 4c or 5.06 per cent to 75c.

Mercury Energy was up 10c to $6.97; Colonial Motor Company added 12c to $8.32; Green Cross Health improved 2c or 1.79 per cent to $1.14; and Channel Infrastructure gained 4c or 2.78 per cent to $1.48.

NZME was up 2c or 2.04 per cent to $1, Michael Hill gained 2c or 2.7 per cent to 76c; Synlait Milk rebounded 2c or 2.67 per cent to 77c; and Ventia Services increased 4c to a new high of $4.08.

AFT Pharmaceuticals was down 5c to $3.19 after telling the market it has formed a partnership with United States-based manufacturer Microsize for the long-term supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients for Maxigesic Rapid pain relief medicine.

Software firm Black Pearl Group gained 2.5c or 5.49 per cent to 48c after reporting more than $1m in new annual recurring revenue in February, bringing the total to more than $7m.

Recruitment firm Accordant Group, down 3c or 3.41 per cent to 85c, told the market that revenue to date was down 9 per cent and full-year net profit will be lower than the $2m reported in the previous year. Government contracting and job ads had declined.